Nessie and Jake, Imprinted
by madaboutforks
Summary: Jake is having a tough time. What is he going to do about it? Jacob's short companion to 'Nessie and Jake, Phases', corresponds to chapters 24 and 25 'Graduation' and 'the Party' of the main story. Canon
1. Jake, graduation

Disclaimer for whole story: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the authors. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended. This is just a tribute.

**This is a two chapter companion to 'Nessie and Jake, Phases' written from Jake's perspective. It corresponds to chapters 24 and 25 ('graduation' and 'the party').**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 1.<strong>

**Jake – graduation**

We'd been waiting in Charlie's living room for nearly an hour, and Charlie and Nessie still weren't back. Sue was looking pretty ticked off; Charlie was going to have some homecoming!

"I don't know why Charlie didn't just call us earlier, it would have been easy for one of you to fetch Nessie," she complained. "She might have made the graduation in time."

Always the diplomat, Seth answered her. "He was just doing his job. You know what it's like; he would have just switched into being a cop, without thinking about it."

"He still could have called," snapped Sue. "It didn't sound as if it was serious! That poor girl, she must be so disappointed."

She stood up and went into the kitchen. I glanced at Seth, he sighed and I turned my eyes to the window. Sue was right; Nessie would be really disappointed. The whole graduation thing had become strangely important to her. I thought about her voice on the phone; she had sounded too calm, like she didn't want me to know that she was upset.

A year ago she would have told me straight away that she was unhappy. This was just another depressing piece of evidence that she no longer wanted to come to me for help. Maybe she was right. What could I have done about it anyway? That didn't mean that I wouldn't have tried to make her feel better.

Now I was the one sighing. How had this barrier come between us? Once upon a time I would not have believed it possible, but now it was an accepted part of my life. Nessie was on the other side of an invisible divide.

I was distracted from my thoughts by the sound of Charlie's police cruiser pulling up outside the house. Sue was first into the hall; she probably wanted to pounce on Charlie. Seth and I got up to see what was going on. I heard Charlie clumping into the house, followed by the sound of Nessie's light footsteps. Then Sue gave a loud gasp.

"Nessie, what happened?" She didn't sound angry, just shocked.

Feeling anxious, I hurried after Seth into the hall, and instantly understood the reason for Sue's exclamation.

Nessie was standing in the doorway, wearing a tattered dress which was covered in dirt and blood. I could smell burning gasoline and there were smut marks on her face and clothes. Her dark eyes blazed defiantly as soon as she saw us. Before we'd had time to speak, she swept past us, towards the stairs.

"I'm _fine_," she said coldly. "We just helped another driver, that's all. I'm going to get cleaned up."

We all stood speechless, as she marched up the stairs and into the bathroom. The door was slammed with a loud bang. Seth raised his eyebrows in surprise and Sue turned to Charlie; her irritation had been replaced by astonishment.

"Charlie, what on earth happened?"

Everyone turned to him with curiosity and he immediately looked uncomfortable at being put on the spot.

"We saw a woman hit a tree, she was trying to avoid a deer. And then we had to wait with her, until the ambulance came." This explanation was pretty lame; Sue wasn't buying it.

"So, why does Nessie look such a mess?"

"Um… well, the driver was bleeding…" Charlie avoided making eye contact and looked guilty.

Now I could see why Bella was such a terrible liar, she'd got it from Charlie! Sue's eyes narrowed and she shot him a penetrating look. She must have known that there was a good reason why Charlie was reluctant to reveal whole story, because after a moment, she let it him off the hook.

"It looks like you need to get cleaned up too," she said, throwing him one final glare, before heading back to the kitchen.

Charlie sighed with relief and turned apologetically to Seth and me.

"Sorry about this afternoon, guys. We really couldn't get away." He then glanced up the stairs. "I think that Nessie is pretty upset about it."

"Do you think she'll be ok for the party?" asked Seth, in a concerned voice.

I stopped listening to them, as my thoughts turned to the girl upstairs. It was obvious that when we'd spoken, she'd only told me a fraction of what had really happened. It looked like she'd been in a disaster. No wonder I'd thought that she was more unhappy than she'd let on.

I wanted to speak to Nessie myself, but then I remembered the closed expression on her face as she'd passed me. She didn't want comfort from me; she didn't want anything from me anymore. I shook my head; I had to stop thinking like this, I was driving myself crazy. I turned my attention back to Seth and Charlie.

"I'll try talking to her," Charlie was saying.

"Good," agreed Seth. "I don't want her to decide not to come tonight, you know she might."

I frowned. Would she really miss her own party? I couldn't imagine it; she'd gone to so much trouble, but the look on her face just now…

"Charlie, you have to get her there. She'll listen to you." I broke in.

Seth backed me up and Charlie agreed to get her to the hotel, even if he had to drag her to the car. The rest of us decided to clear out of the house, to make it easier for Charlie to corner Nessie.

Seth caught a ride with me to La Push. When he got into the car, he shook his head.

"Did Charlie seriously expect us to believe that waiting for an ambulance would make Nessie look like that?"

"Yeah, I know. That was the worst lie I've ever heard." I thought about her dishevelled appearance. "For crying out loud, she looked like she must have dragged the driver out of a burning wreck!"

Seth nodded and frowned. "And what about her hands?"

"What are you talking about?" I'd been watching her face, I hadn't noticed anything else.

"Her palms were blistered; I can't think what would do that, except fire maybe?"

She'd been _burned_! I felt myself growing cold. Seth could see that I was seriously stressed and tried to calm me down.

"Jake, chill out. They were already half healed, she was fine. I only mentioned it because it didn't fit with Charlie's story."

I took a couple of deep breaths, trying to relax. We'd know if she was badly hurt, Seth was right, she was ok, she was fine. I just kept repeating this to myself, until I cooled off. Seth threw me a sideways glance.

"Seriously man, you need to stop freaking out. You're going to lose it one of these days."

Tell me something I didn't know! I nodded. "Sure, sure. But, you know how things are."

"Yeah, I know," his expression became serious and he added cautiously. "Maybe, things will get better once she's gone."

"Sure." I answered without expression.

We lapsed into silence. All the time my thoughts were racing. _Better when she was gone!_ Like the way you might feel better _after_ being shot in the head, because things might be kind of peaceful! That was how I felt when I pictured her leaving.

The news about Dartmouth had come as a real blow. Seth had had the decency to tell me as soon as he found out, when no one else was around. I guess he was worried that I'd take it badly. He was right. Until then I'd been hoping for a miracle, but this was tangible proof that Nessie was happy to leave me, that she _wanted_ to go.

I remembered her words when she said goodbye to me by the river, 'my family won't be here forever, we'll move on.' She probably thought she was doing me a favour. I knew that she cared about me as a friend, but no more than that.

During the weeks I'd stayed away from her, I had known how unhappy she was. I'd hated it, I'd worried about her constantly, but a tiny part of me thought that maybe it was evidence that she loved me. After the nightmare with the werewolf, I learned that I was kidding myself. She had missed me and invited me back into her life, but it turned out that my friendship was enough.

In the initial weeks after the chase, Nessie wasn't her old self. I remembered the first morning, when Seth had held her; she'd looked so devastated that it had been painful to watch. And then, in the days that followed, I could see the damage that the experience had done to her. She was withdrawn and edgy, and her confidence was all to pieces.

This wasn't hard to understand; I tried to give her space and waited for our old friendship to return. I was glad to see that she did gradually become happier; she started making plans and sounding more like the girl I knew.

But then it became apparent that she was rebuilding her life, without leaving a place for me in it. A hundred things she said exposed the fact that she didn't expect us to stay together.

So now I knew exactly how the end would come. She would move east and drift away from me. It couldn't be like it was before, when I had travelled with her. This time Nessie would go alone and stay away for months or possibly years; maybe she'd never come back.

And my life would carry on as a bleak mockery of what it could be. I'd have the pack, my family, my job and all the time be missing the one person who gave it any meaning.

Looking back on the kid who'd been infatuated with Bella, I envied him; believing his heart had been lost, he had escaped into the wilderness. I was facing the loss of my heart, my soul and all my hope. But I couldn't break out, I wasn't a kid anymore and people depended on me. When you grew up you couldn't just walk away, you had to carry on, no matter how pointless it seemed.

"At least Nessie will be safe with her family," was Seth's sudden comment. "I can't see anything getting to her when she's with them."

He was right, this was my only consolation; she'd be protected by a powerful coven. I nodded. "I hope so."

Seth still wanted to talk about this; he was determined to ignore the fact that I didn't.

"Do you really think that she's a target?"

"You know I do," I answered in a clipped tone, keeping my eyes on the road.

"Edward wasn't so sure, when the werewolf attacked."

"He said there was no evidence," I shook my head. "But he had Emmett there in less than twenty four hours. I know he'd have called Jasper too, if he'd been in the country."

"Maybe he was just being cautious. Can you really be sure?"

I had a sudden flashback, to the horrific moment when I saw the most precious thing in my life, running from the jaws of death. 'Jake… Jake! _Help me..!_'

I caught my breath and had to fight back the tremors that were already starting in my hands. My ears were still ringing with her cry, as I replied through clenched teeth.

"Call it my animal instinct, but I know in my bones that it wasn't a coincidence; it was sent for her. Come on, Seth. Werewolves are almost extinct, yet one just _happens_ to end up chasing Nessie through the forest," I caught his eye and continued. "The Cullens have enemies. _We_ have enemies. Who would be top of that list?"

"You still think the Volturi would try and take Nessie down? But, why her?"

"That last encounter humiliated them pretty badly. I don't think that anyone believed that that would be the end of it. We all know that they'd be unlikely to risk open war with the Cullens. The family have too many talents to make them easy victims for the Volturi! But for anyone who wanted to punish them, Nessie is the perfect target; she's the most physically vulnerable and the only one whose future Alice can't read.

"If the Volturi planned to make any moves against the others, Alice would know. But if they limit themselves to hurting Nessie, Alice is completely blind. Just think what it would do to the Cullens to lose her! Think what it would do to the pack… through me. In one fell swoop, they could have revenge on us all."

"Ok, but why use a werewolf?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe they thought it would be able to take on a pack member, or maybe it was a way to keep their hands clean. After all, they would never want to be officially responsible for Nessie's…" I couldn't quite say the word, so I took a deep breath and continued. "Don't forget, Alice wouldn't be able to see the werewolf's movements either. She could never link it to the Volturi."

Seth nodded slowly. "It wouldn't be an easy thing to set up, but I know what you mean. Do you think it was right not to say anything to Nessie?"

"I honestly don't know. Edward didn't want me scaring her, and a part of me thinks she doesn't need to live constantly looking over her shoulder; she's jumpy enough as it is. Anyway, I have no proof… just instinct."

"I guess that she has her family to look out for her. And us." He gave a tentative smile.

"Sure."

Though what use we could be, when she had moved right across the country, was a mystery to me. This was my secret fear – the one that kept me awake at nights – that Nessie would be a couple of thousand miles away from me, when those dark forces finally caught up with her. I had to trust that she didn't need me to keep her safe. She had her family.

Seth let this topic of conversation drop and I stayed silent the rest of the way home. As always, my mind was like a broken record, going over and over the same question. How was I going to live without her? And of course, I could find no answer.

Every night, before I went to sleep, I'd imagine taking her in my arms and telling her that she couldn't go, because she was mine. In the darkness, this almost seemed like a realistic idea. But every morning, I would open my eyes and realise what total insanity it would be.

Nessie had cut me out of her life, at the slightest hint that I felt more for her than just friendship. I wasn't going to take that risk again. I didn't want to lose the last of our time together.

The thing that really got me, was the way that I could go away and carefully explain to myself why Nessie didn't belong to me – I would get it all straight in my head – but as soon as I saw her again, the lesson would be completely forgotten. It was as if my heart just couldn't accept the truth, it was overpowered by the imprinting.

Seth had no idea how lucky he was to have avoided that curse.

At least when we got to the house, I had no time to dwell on these depressing thoughts. Somehow, with eating dinner, showering and dressing, several hours disappeared unnoticed.

I hadn't yet tried on the suit that Alice sent me; I didn't want to mess it up. It would be impossible to pretend that I'd ever been interested in clothes. But when I put on this suit, I could suddenly understand why other people were. It fitted like a glove and I had to admit, I felt pretty good!

I went into the living room where my dad and Seth were watching TV. Seth was dressed and ready before me; he glanced at over at me and grinned.

"Nice suit!"

We both knew that this was an understatement, I laughed and nodded. "Thanks."

My dad was eyeing me with a smile. "You'll be fighting off the ladies tonight, son."

I just winked. "As long as they don't muss the suit!"

He chuckled as I went into the kitchen. I guess Billy was hoping that one day I would get over Nessie. There was no point explaining how impossible that was; there were some things parents really didn't need to hear.

I heard a knock at the front door. It must be Marie; we'd all agreed to meet at my house. I heard Seth calling to her from the living room.

"It's open!"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's notes:<strong>

**I will post the second half of this companion story very soon, have a good week, Mad :)**


	2. Jake, the party

**Chapter 2.**

**Jake – the party**

It must be past ten. I hit the accelerator and hoped that all the cops were safely tucked up in bed. Three hours ago, we'd been ready to go. Then Marie walked through the door…

Nice timing Seth!

It was so sudden; I'd been completely taken by surprise. But that was nothing compared to Seth; he was still looking dazed when I'd said goodbye and left the house.

Of course, I'd been dragged in to help smooth the transition for Seth and Marie. Though nothing really needed smoothing, she already seemed to know about the wolves. Things had gone the way they should; Seth had imprinted on a grown woman who loved him back and – I thought bitterly - they could start being happy right away.

My own resentment shocked me. Had I really stooped so low that I would begrudge Seth his happiness? If anyone deserved it, it was him. I should know; I'd shared his thoughts for years! And look at all the favours he'd done me. Apart from everything else, he had spent the best part of a year guarding Nessie. She didn't know it, but Seth had always been on the lookout, ready to protect her.

I guess he'd even done me a favour by imprinting. At least now Marie could stop feeling jealous of Nessie. It had been really getting on my nerves; the way she'd blamed Nessie for Seth's apparent lack of interest. Marie had never understood that Seth only saw Nessie as a little sister. Added to which, Nessie just wasn't the kind of girl to lead anyone on.

She could have had every boy at school drooling after her, but she was too straightforward. I'd seen the way she made friends, there was never any misunderstanding and she never threw out lures. As a result, Nessie did far less damage to the senior year hearts than she could have.

The girls didn't resent her and the boys treated her as a reliable friend. Frankly, Nessie seemed to have done far more good than harm. She had put a surprising amount of trouble into matchmaking the other kids. She was a born romantic, but had left nothing for herself.

This was one of the reasons why I wanted to attend her party, I felt bad that she was going on her own. I understood exactly why no one had asked to be her date. Even if they had found the nerve, she hadn't fooled any of the senior boys into thinking that she was interested. As a result, none of them were going to put themselves on the line for a likely refusal.

The most selfish part of me was glad; I didn't want Nessie dating anyone. But my nobler side wished that at least one person had asked her, because now she assumed that she was unwanted. That much had been written on her face, when Marie had grilled her about who she was taking to the party.

What disturbed me the most was that Nessie hadn't seemed bothered about it. It wasn't that I wanted her to be unhappy, but I noticed how she'd accepted this situation unquestioningly. 'I don't expect to have those things,' that's what she'd said to me when she left. She still believed it, and seemed to have hardened herself against rejection. It didn't sit well with me that she had been forced to adopt this attitude.

Of course, my major contribution to her self-confidence had been to convince her that she would infect my sister's kids with her vampire side. Nessie never alluded to it, but I knew how deeply I had wounded her. If this was the kind of validation that she got from her closest friend, was it any wonder that she had such low expectations of receiving acceptance from anyone else?

Damn it! Why the hell hadn't I just made up some excuse for not taking her to Hawaii? Could I have handled that situation any worse? I had thought myself above lying to Nessie, so instead I'd crushed and humiliated her!

It was hardly surprising that now she wanted to get as far away from me as possible. It seemed a fitting punishment, to know that she would _never_ ask me to take her anywhere ever again.

I could never take it back, but in as many ways as I could, I was still trying to make up for what I had done. Like tonight; I had wanted to be there for her, but the only thing I'd managed so far was to be _really_ late.

My eyes followed the dark road, twisting and turning through the forest. At least I was making pretty good time now; I'd be at the hotel soon. I hoped that she wouldn't be too upset that I was late, but it was almost worse to know that she'd probably shrug it off as just another let down.

When I finally arrived at the hotel, I became aware of how much effort Nessie had really made when planning this party and I realised that she must have spent a small fortune on it. She had made regular references to her plans, but I don't think I'd been paying enough attention.

It was a fantastic venue, really classy; the kind of place where my suit belonged. I smiled, imagining my suit turning up at this hotel… without me!

As I went into the elegant foyer, I caught sight of Nessie's blonde friend, Leanne, struggling to keep her date on his feet. He was leaning with his arm over her shoulders and looked like he was about to pass out.

"You could at least try to walk!" She snapped angrily, as she tried to drag him across the hall.

Stepping over to them, I caught him under the arms and hoisted him off her. "Where do you want him?"

"Oh, over there," she helpfully pointed to a chair in the corner. I set him down and she helped push him into a position where he'd be unlikely to fall on his face. Once we were done, she stood up straight and said in a relieved voice.

"Thanks, Jacob. I thought I was going to have to leave him lying in the middle of the floor."

"That's ok."

If I'd been her, I would have.

"If you're looking for Nessie, she's in the function room," Leanne pointed to the double doors. "She was on the dance floor last time I saw her."

No surprises there!

"Thanks," I smiled. "I should go find her."

"You'd better do that," she grinned. "See you later, Jacob."

I didn't need to be told where Nessie was, I never had any trouble catching her sweet scent. There was nothing quite like it, a hint of vanilla and something that I could never quite place, something magical. It was the most incredible perfume in the world.

Passing through the doors into the party, I was instantly struck by the great atmosphere. Nessie's influence was in evidence everywhere, from the decorations to the music. The overhead lights had been lowered and the room was lit by thousands of fairy lights. It looked really pretty.

All her careful planning seemed to have paid off. The room was full of excited kids and the dance floor was packed. The good vibes must have rubbed off on me, because I started feeling more cheerful as I scanned the room for Nessie.

Straightaway I spotted her, on the far side of the room. She was on the dance floor with her friend Oliver. She didn't see me, but the sight of her made me catch my breath. I was used to the effect that she always had on me, but tonight was different. I was completely undone. The girl I loved had somehow transformed into a radiantly beautiful woman.

I stood watching her, feeling stunned. For a moment, I almost regretted coming to the party. The way she looked was something I would not be able to forget. I knew that this image of Nessie would be constantly in my mind when she left; my perfect woman, divinely lovely and yet hopelessly unattainable.

I tried to clear my thoughts. Tonight wasn't about what I wanted; I had come here for her sake. Pulling myself together, I eased my way through the crowded dance floor towards her. She was absorbed with her partner, they were laughing and chatting, in spite of the fact that he had obviously just trodden on her foot.

Nessie didn't notice me until I put my hand on her arm. She glanced around in surprise and her face lit up as soon as she saw me.

"Jake!" She glanced at what I was wearing and smiled appreciatively, raising her eyes to mine.

"Can I cut in?" It might have been more polite to address Oliver, but somehow, I couldn't tear my eyes from her face.

At least he didn't sound offended as he let her go. "See you later, Nessie," he said, making a discreet exit. I suddenly really liked this guy.

And I was left alone with my angel. As I took her hand in mine, I was relieved to feel that her palm had completely healed. I slid my other hand around her slender waist. She looked down as I did this, hiding her beautiful eyes from view. I wanted her to look at me again.

I never got bored of gazing into Nessie's eyes; they were so expressive. In obvious ways they resembled her mother's human eyes; they were the exact same colour and shape. But for me the difference between them was clear, because they were doorways to such different souls. Bella's eyes had been gentle, but Nessie's were full of lively energy.

"Sorry, I'm late. I got held up." I said, trying to catch her attention.

It worked, she smiled up at me. "That's ok," she said, throwing me a playful look. "Wow Jake. You look amazing… sort of like James Bond."

I didn't want to admit quite how much my clothes made me feel like James Bond, so I just laughed. "That's appropriate, since Alice had this suit made in London."

"Since when does Alice do your clothes shopping?"

"She insisted on taking my measurements, at Christmas," I explained. "She said I might need someone to 'escort you out', and I wasn't allowed to let the side down."

Alice had been surprisingly vocal on the subject and I'd just gone along with it. I was glad I had now.

"And I thought she couldn't see your future," Nessie rolled her eyes, but I could tell she was impressed, which made me feel good.

I glanced down at her. She was wearing a dress made of bronze silk, which showed off her figure, and revealed the graceful lines of her throat and shoulders. Her glossy curls had been smoothed away from her face and pinned up, making her look more adult. Her brown eyes met mine and I smiled.

"I'm the one who should be saying 'wow'. You look beautiful."

This was a total understatement, but even this small compliment was enough to make her blush and look away. I was going to have to watch what I said, if I didn't want to give myself away. I kept my eyes on her for a couple of seconds, looking for signs that she had taken offense. I was relieved that she didn't pull away from me.

With Nessie in my arms, I felt calmer than I had in weeks. This was one of the effects of imprinting; touching her made me feel relaxed. Instinctively, I pulled her closer, wrapping my arm around her back, the silk of her dress felt very smooth under my fingers. She didn't seem to mind because she softly laid her head against my shoulder.

Holding her this way, it was easy to imagine that she was mine. For once I didn't remind myself of the truth; I just wanted to enjoy the moment. Nessie was very quiet, but she seemed to be happy where she was. When the song ended I had to come back down to earth. She looked unsure as her eyes met mine and I didn't want to monopolise her, so I asked.

"Would you like a breather?"

I really hoped she would say no, but instead she nodded cheerfully. "Sure."

We wound our way off the dance floor and ended up by the food table. Nessie wore an impish smile as she handed me a glass of punch.

"That'll put hairs on your chest."

She was going to have to do better than that if she wanted to catch me out.

"I'm not sure if I want to phase in this suit, it cost more than my house." I could smell exactly how revolting this drink was, but I didn't want to disappoint her, so I took a sip. It tasted worse than it smelled. "Exactly how many bottles of vodka were poured into this?"

She smiled innocently. "Kristy counted seven different guys spiking it, but there may have been more."

Thanks for the warning, honey! I gave up on the attempt to drink this horrible cocktail and put down the glass. Vodka wasn't the only thing in that punch.

"I swear peppermint schnapps got in there somewhere… and possibly a bottle of Malibu."

Clearly feeling pleased with her trick, she gave a gleeful laugh. I smiled and saw her glance around the room with a perplexed expression.

"Where's Seth?"

This was going to be good!

I couldn't repress a grin. "He's not coming tonight."

"Why not?" She frowned.

Quickly looking around, I realised that a number of people nearby could hear everything that we were saying. This was definitely not the kind of conversation that we should have within earshot of outsiders. I noticed that we were near the doors leading to the veranda. I caught hold of Nessie's arm and gently pushed her towards them.

"Let's get some air."

She looked bewildered, but didn't bother to argue as I guided her out into the night. Closing the doors behind us, I turned back to Nessie. She had crossed the veranda and was leaning on the rail, overlooking the garden. She glanced over her shoulder, with her delicate eyebrows raised questioningly.

"I thought that we'd do better without the audience!" I explained.

She looked unimpressed. "What's with you?"

I crossed the veranda and discovered what a scenic night it was. The garden below was full of shadows cast by an unusually bright moon, and from where we were standing we could look right out to the bay.

Glancing down at Nessie, I noticed the way the moonlight caught the surface of her white skin; it made her look luminous. To my sensitive eyes, she shone. Right then, Nessie looked as if she was from another world; mysterious and magical and a million miles away from the humdrum planet that I inhabited.

It suddenly made perfect sense why things could never work out for us. I was some dumb wolf, howling at the moon, failing to understand that it could never come down from the sky. Tomorrow I would probably feel sad about that fact, but while we were together, I could only feel glad to be basking in her silvery glow.

Leaning on the rail next to her, I smiled. "Don't you want to know what happened to Seth?"

"I know that you're dying to tell me." She shot me a piercing look from under her long lashes.

"True."

"Well..?" Nessie had grown tired of humouring me and wanted the punch line.

"He imprinted!"

There was no way she saw that one coming!

I wasn't disappointed by her reaction; she was even more surprised than I had expected her to be; she could barely speak.

"You're joking!"

"I'm serious. It happened when we were getting ready to leave my house." I remembered the stunned look on Seth's face.

"But… who?" She stuttered, looking completely mystified.

"Marie." _Of course!_ Couldn't she guess?

"_Marie!_ That's not possible..!"

Ok, so she had a point, Seth had known Marie for ages. I tried to explain as best I could.

"I know it's hard to believe. I never knew it could be this way either." We were going to have to write some new legends. "When I first saw Marie, I thought they were made for each other, I was like 'imprint already.' But he met her and nothing happened, so I assumed she wasn't the one. I mean, for everyone else imprinting was definitely a first-sight thing."

I remembered the way I felt when I first saw Nessie, but I didn't want to get side-tracked by that recollection, so I continued.

"I've never heard of delayed imprinting before. Trust Seth! He's known this girl for months and then this evening, she walked through the door and it was like he was really seeing her for the first time." _Seriously, how could it have taken him this long!_ "I don't understand it. Maybe it was the evening dress..!"

Speaking of evening dresses… I smiled and looked down at Nessie. I was surprised when she turned to me and exclaimed.

"But… she doesn't love him."

Maybe Nessie really did come from the moon. How else could she have failed to notice the way that Marie felt about Seth?

"Are you kidding? She's been crazy about him since they first met. Why do you think she kept coming over to Charlie's house?" I refrained from adding, _there is no way you could have thought that she was coming to see you, I know you two don't really like each other._

Nessie seemed dazed as she asked. "So, are they together now?"

"Yeah, he had to tell her about the wolf thing. That was tough, but she took it surprisingly well." I was _very_ suspicious about that. "Almost too well; like she already knew. None of the guys would have told her... I bet it was one of the girls!" After all, they weren't subject to the Alpha's commands.

Nessie nodded without looking at me, as I carried on speaking. "It was probably Claire. She's a real big mouth. I'm not going to bother trying to find out. Those girls get away with murder, but it's hard to say anything about it – the guys go all touchy if I try." You should _never_ find fault with another pack member's imprint, they would hold it against you forever. "Anyway, whoever it was, I guess they did Seth a favour."

I glanced at Nessie and noticed that she was still looking shocked. She didn't seem to be taking the news very well; I should have broken it to her more gently.

"What's wrong?" I asked, feeling worried by her reaction. "I thought you'd be happy for them."

She raised her wide eyes to my face and I felt as if she was looking right through me. "I am… I'm just so surprised. I thought that you…" she broke off midsentence and turned away from me.

I was confused for a second, trying to figure out what she had stopped herself from saying. Then a sudden suspicion struck me and I frowned.

"_What_ did you think?"

I _must_ be wrong, but she was so silent at my side, I had the ominous feeling that my suspicion was right on the mark.

"Um…" she still avoided meeting my eye. "I thought that you might be interested in Marie."

This naïve comment hit me like a bombshell. Was she _that_ clueless? Apparently Nessie didn't just come from a different planet. She was so oblivious to how I felt about her, that she must be from another _universe!_

I found myself gasping in disbelief. _"What?"_

Nessie stared up at me with innocent eyes and as she registered my shocked expression, she became uncomfortable and started trying to justify herself.

"It's not such a far-fetched idea. You'd be well suited."

_This girl was going to drive me crazy!_

That was it! I had officially hit my limit with this insane conversation; I turned on my heel and walked away from her, ignoring her anxious voice.

"Jake?"

My mind raced as I reached the garden steps and I could feel my temper rising. All my frustrations came flooding to the surface. To think of all the pain and worry that I'd suffered for her… and she hadn't noticed _anything!_ No, she'd been too busy trying to set me up with another girl. I heard Nessie follow me and I couldn't stop myself from turning on her accusingly.

"Is that what you were hoping for?" Didn't she know that her plan was doomed to failure; I mean, what was she _thinking?_ "Don't you understand me at all?" I snapped.

As she moved across the darkened veranda, her expression was frustratingly confused. Apparently this was _another_ thing I would have to spell out to her. But right then, I was too irritated even to do that. I could hardly bring myself to look at her.

The instant Nessie drew near; I went down the steps and stood on the terrace, with my back to her. She spoke from the veranda and her voice was barely a whisper.

"What do you mean?"

Was there really any point in explaining? I didn't bother to answer and she tried again.

"Jacob, what is it?"

Something in her tone compelled me to turn around. Glaring up at her, I was unable to hold my feelings in check.

"I could never be with Marie. I could never be with anyone else. Don't you understand?" I was so tired of all the pretence that I wanted to tell the truth. "I can't even _see _anyone but you."

On hearing my words, her eyes flew wide with shock, but I didn't regret saying them. Instead I felt surprisingly liberated; as if I was throwing off a weight that had been pressing upon me for far too long.

It was only when I gazed into her stricken face that my anger subsided. She looked so vulnerable that I suddenly felt guilty; I was being unfair. Nessie didn't deserve my resentment, she'd never asked for any of this; I had imprinted on her and she'd had no choice in the matter. She didn't even really understand what it meant.

Speaking more softly, I continued to hold her gaze. "I'm sorry. I know you don't want to hear it, but I can't carry on this way."

It was too late for lies, so I told her the only truth that really mattered to me.

"I love you, Nessie. I've always loved you… and I don't think I can live without you."

Having laid myself open to her, I now stood waiting for the axe to fall. She stepped out of the shadows and her words took me completely by surprise.

"You don't have to," she said gently, never taking her eyes from my face.

Glistening white in the moonlight, she descended the garden steps. All the time, I was trying to find some meaning to her words; they just didn't make any sense. As she drew near, I took an involuntary step in her direction; it was impossible for me to stay away. Nessie stopped in front of me and lifted her hand to my cheek.

Her touch was so light that I could scarcely feel it, but the visions came through with remarkable force. A thousand images of me, each one of them holding a sense of love and longing. The strength of her emotions, in this catalogue of memories, staggered me. And they told me one undeniable truth; that she wanted me to be hers… because she loved me!

I felt as if I was seeing Nessie for the first time. I couldn't look away, even after she had taken her hand from my face. Her dark eyes never left my own and they blazed with strength of feeling that was entirely new. The only thing I recognised was the irresistible pull that drew me to her; the glowing heat of imprinting.

I found myself reaching out; she felt very warm as I took her in my arms. Nessie raised her sweet face to mine, and the expression in her eyes became soft and inviting. I couldn't stop myself from leaning down and kissing her.

As our lips met, I experienced an amazing surge of happiness; she was so much more beautiful than I had ever realised. For a moment I drew back – just to look at her – but Nessie slipped her arms around my neck and pulled me close. She kissed me with unexpected eagerness and as I tightened my hold, my senses were overcome by her intoxicating perfume and sound of her beating heart.

In an instant, the strength of my imprinting increased a hundred times; I couldn't feel anything beyond the radiant heat that surrounded us. She felt so warm, so right, that I only wanted to get closer. It was such a powerful feeling, I was afraid I might hurt her, but she matched my force with surprising intensity. My perfect girl, my perfect mate…

Lifting her jaw, I pressed tender kisses along her throat. "Nessie, honey… I love you… I love you…"

She raised her hands and gently turned my face towards her own. Her eyes locked with mine, and a soft smile played on her lips as she said the words I'd waited my whole existence to hear.

"I love you."

* * *

><p><strong><span>Author's notes:<span>**

**I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into Jacob's mind. I'm always really interested to read comments, so please review :)**

**Mad :)**


End file.
